Short Length Ultralight Sleeping Pads

Switching to a shorter torso length sleeping pad is a good way to reduce the weight of your ultralight backpacking gear because your legs don’t need the same amount of insulation as your core does in three season conditions. If you have a short torso-length pad 36-48″ in length, you can usually rest your feet and legs on top of your backpack and spare clothing at night and stay perfectly warm. How much weight can you save by switching to a shorter pad? Let’s say you have a 6′ long inflatable pad that weighs 12 ounces and you replace it with one that’s 4′ long and weighs 8 ounces. Four ounces is a pretty significant weight reduction with very little loss of comfort.

Here’s a list of short sleeping products to give you an idea of the type of savings that are possible if you were to buy a shorter length foam pad, self-inflating sleeping pad, an air inflatable one. I’ve included gear weights, R-values and manufacturer suggested temperature rating when these are available.

DIY Pad Shortening

If you’re willing to gamble on modifying a self-inflating pad or an air inflatable one that you already own, there are also lots of videos online that explain how to shorten such pads using a pair of scissors and an iron. Here are a couple of good ones that I recommend:

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